Spinning frames



April 16, 1968 G. BROCKEL I 3,377,790

' SPINNING'FRAMES I Sh eos-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 15, 1965 3 e 2C\ 1 26 N? I I I In venior:

AT oRNgxS April 16, 1968 'G. BR CKEL 4 3, 77,7

SPINNING FRAMES Filed Dec. 15, 1965 s sheets-shee z Inventor: a

Gerhard Brfickel MATTORNEIS April 16,1968 ZG. BROCKEL 3,

SPINNING FRAMES Filed Dec. 15, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor: Gerhard Brbckel BY M. m aq v 4 1 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,377,790 SPINNING FRAMES Gerhard Brockel, Winterthur, Switzerland, assignor to Sulzer Brothers Limited, Winterthur, Switzerland, a Swiss company Filed Dec. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 514,078 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Dec. 18, 1964, 16,438/64 7 Claims. (Cl. 57-58.59)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE There is disclosed a spinning frame in which yarn loosely formed in a drawing frame is passed to a rotating false twist tube which delivers it to a flyer. The flyer comprises a vertical shaft beneath the false twist tube and hollow at the end adjacent thereto. A yarn guide or conduit affixed to this shaft receives the yarn from the false twist tube at a location radially outward of the shaft and passes it through the hollow shaft, through a hollow portion of a package support rotatably supported on the shaft, and to a level-winding mechanism which is rotatably supported on the package support. A separately driven disc is mounted coaxially on the shaft below the yarn guide and for rotation independently thereof, and a torque is transmitted from this disc to the package support, independently of rotation of the flyer, by cooperating magnets disposed in part on the disc and in part on the package support. The level-winding mechanism, mounted on a cam, is prevented from rotation by cooperating magnets disposed in part on the level-winding mechanism and in part on a stationary cylinder, the latter of these magnets being moved axially of the shaft to traverse the levelwinding mechanism more rapidly in one direction than the other.

The invention relates to a spinning frame with a draw ing frame for the roving.

In a conventional ring spinning frame the drawn yarn is passed through a ring traveller and wound onto a driven spindle which moves up and down. The speed of this spinning process is limited by the speed of the ring traveller, whose maximum is reached at a spindle speed of about 12,000 rpm. If this traveller speed is exceeded the traveller is worn so fast that the frame becomes uneconomical. Moreover, if the spindle speed were substantially increased the spindle would tend to break and excessive centrifugal force in the balloon of yarn produced round the spindle would cause either breaks in the yarn or would result in yarn with poor elongation. If the yarn is for a purpose requiring a cross-wound package, the yarn has to be rewound from the cop into this form. Thus with the known spinning method, speed is restricted until the yarn is in the crosswound package, and also time is lost by rewinding the yarn.

The object of the present invention is to improve spinning and also to improve winding by spinning directly into a cross-wound package. According to the present invention, a spinning frame has a drawing frame for the roving, a false twist element, a separately driven doubletwist mechanism, and means for winding a cross-wound package located at a position which is within the balloon generated by the double twist mechanism during operation.

Twist as used herein means the known process of twisting or twinning the thread, false twist means twisting the thread in one direction before a place where the thread is held and in the other direction after this place, and double twist means repeated, i.e. double or multiple twisting in the same direction. False-twist element means an element for producing false twist in yarn, and

3,3717% Patented Apr. 16, 1968 ice double twist mechanism means a mechanism for producing double twist in yarn. In a frame constructed in accordance with the invention the yarn can be given a double or multiple twist because the double-twist mechanism is driven separately. A higher degree of twisting, e.g. fourfold or sixfold, than with a conventional frame can be obtained by making the speed of the double-twist mechanism for example equal to the false-twist element or by reducing the speed of the false-twist element. Alternatively, the amount of twist given to a yarn on a conventional spinning frame can be obtained at a lower speed of rotation on the frame.

At the relatively low speed at which it is possible to operate frames embodying the invention, the balloon of thread can be made larger without its tending to break or have low elongation. Moreover, because this balloon is relatively large, a cross-wound package with a relatively large diameter can be arranged inside it and the spun yarn can be wound directly onto this package. Thus the yarn can be spun directly into a cross-wound package with the same amount of twist, and hence it is not necessary to rewind from a cop into a cross-wound package.

Because of the false-twist element the tension in the balloon of thread is kept away from the roving leaving the drawing frame. Consequently the double-twist mechanism can be rotated faster without risk of the roving snapping in the drawing frame, and since the yarn can travel faster the whole spinning operation can be faster.

In a preferred form of the invention, the double-twist mechanism includes a rotatable yarn guide arranged in and coaxial with a cylinder arranged to restrict the balloon of yarn. The cylinder also containing a can positioned to surround the cross-wound package. Conveniently, the can and the cylinder are arranged vertically and coaxially one inside the other, the can being below the false-twist element and above the double-twist mechanism. The winding means may include a vertical hollow tube as a carrier for the cross-wound bobbin, this tube being arranged for the upwards passage therethrough of yarn leaving the double-twist mechanism. This arrangement produces a very compact frame, and in particular the balloon of thread between the cylinder and the can is relatively small so that there is relatively little centrifugal force in the thread.

In one embodiment, the winding mean includes a levelwinding device which is mounted on the can and may include a carriage which carries a thread guide and is vertically movable on the inside of the can, and magnetic means for moving the carriage up and down from outside the can. Preferably the magnetic means is arranged to move the carriage faster upwards than downwards. The magnetic drive of the movable carriage takes into account the fact that when moving upward the carriage approaches the place where the yarn leaves the hollow tube of the cross-wound bobbin, whereas when moving downwards it moves away from this place. The drive can be designed so that the yarn is wound onto the bobbin the same way during both movements of the carriage.

In one embodiment of the invention, the cross-wound package, and more particularly the carrier or support on which it is wound, is driven from outside by means of magnets. This drive permits slip. The speed of the cross-wound package can therefore drop during spinning as the diameter of the package increases without the driving speed of the external magnet being reduced. Consequently, the thread will not break by reason of excessive peripheral speed of the cross-wound package compared with the speed of the yarn fed to it.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways and one embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation, partly in vertical axial section, of a spinning frame in accordance with the invention, showing also in perspective a drawing frame in association therewith;

FIG. 2 is a view at an enlarged scale, partly in vertical section, of the false-twist element of FIG. 1 and of the drive means therefor;

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 taken on the line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation at an enlarged scale of the winding arm 33 of FIG. 1 and of the support therefor;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view in elevation of apparatus for drive of the winding arm of FIGS. 4 and 5.

At the top of FIG. 1 are shown three pairs of rollers 1 forming a drawing frame for the roving 2. From these rollers the roving passes onto a false-twist tube 3 (FIGS. 1-3) rotatably mounted in an arm 4. This arm can be pivoted upwards at a joint 6 attached to the base 5 of the spinning frame (FIGS. 1, 2).

On the base there is also a belt drive 8 (FIGS. 2, 3) driven by a motor, not shown. The belt passes round two rollers 7 and drives a roller 9 mounted in the arm 4 and frictionally connected to another roller 11, also mounted in the arm 4. The false-twist tube 3 is mounted between the roller 11 and two further rollers 12, 13 and is driven by these rollers 11-13 at a speed of, for example, 8,000 r.p.m. At the top of the false-twist tube there is a twoarm saddle 14 which catches the yarn 2 and rotates the yarn with it. The yarn is wound round the upper part of the tube at 50, for example about one and a half times, and then is passed through a hole 15 and down inside the tube. It forms a balloon 2 and passes into a cylinder 16 fixed to the base 5 of the spinning frame. It is possible to provide a shield 15' to define the balloon; such a shield, which may be removable, is shown in broken lines. When the yarn reaches the bottom of the cylinder it passes through a horizontal bore 17 in a double-twist fiyer or rotating yarn guide member comprising two connected plates 18. The upper plate has a rim 21 to guide the yarn 2. The double-twist fiyer 18 is attached to a vertical spindle 22 supported in bearings 22" affixed to the base 5 and driven by means of a helical gearing 23, 23a at a speed of, for example, 8,000 r.p.m., i.e. at the same speed as the false-twist tube 3.

A ball-bearing on the spindle 22 holds a rotatable package carrier consisting of two parts 24 and a conical sleeve 25 for the windings of a cross-wound package 26. This package and a can 29 are inside the balloon of yarn 2]. The yarn 2 goes from the bore 17 up through a hollow tube 27 inside the package carrier 24, 25 to an outlet 19.

The can 29 enclosing the cross-wound package 26 is mounted by means of a ball-bearing 28 on the bottom of the package carrier 24, 25. On the inside of the can to the right as seen in FIG. 1 there is a vertical rail 31 of horseshoe-shaped cross-section (FIGS. 1, 4, 5). A carriage 32 is movable on the rail, being slidably held to it by a pin 61 with a T-shaped cross-section. The carriage 32 has an arm 33 with a thread guide hole 34. It also has a U-shaped permanent magnet 35 cooperating with another U-shaped permanent magnet 36 which is fixed to a vertical rod 37 and moves up and down outside the can 29 and cylinder 16. At the bottom of the rod 37 there is a pin 38 projecting into a slot 63 (FIG. 6) on a two-arm lever 64, 65 pivotably mounted at 66. The lever is driven by a cam 67 by way of a roller 70 on the arm 65 and is biased by a tension spring 68 tending to pivot the lever clockwise and holding the arm 65 against the cam 67.

At the point in the cycle shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 the parts 37, 36, 32 are moving upwards. The cam has a sharp change in contour at 69 so that the carriage 32 reaches its top positioncorresponding to the part 67 on the camrelatively quickly. The downward movement of the carriage is slower on account of the gradual upward slope 72, 71 on the cam. The magnets 36, 35 prevent the cross-wound bobbin can 29 from turning on the spindle 22.

The bottom part of the package carrier 24, 25 (FIG. 1) carries a plate 39 with an upwardly slanting rim 41 bearing two permanent magnets 42. These magnets cooperate with two other permanent magnets 43 on a drive plate 44 below the double-twist fiyer 18. A hub 45 on the plate 44 is rotatably mounted on the vertical spindle 22 by means of a ball-bearing 47 and is driven by a belt drive 46 at a speed of, for example, 15 r.p.m.

The magnetic drive by means of the parts 44, 39 acts like a slip clutch and allows the speed of the cross-wound package 26 to drop below that of the drive plate 44 when the winding diameter of the package gradually increases during operation.

The apparatus operates as follows. One false twist is imparted to the roving leaving the drawing frame 1 for every rotation of the false-twist tube 3 in the direction of the arrow 51. That is, in the section 2a between the drawing frame 1 and saddle 14 the roving is twisted once to the right per rotation of the tube 3, whereas in the section 2b after it has gone through the tube 3 it is twisted once to the left. It is twisted to the right once in the section 20 inside the cylinder 16 by the doubletwist fiyer 18, which turns in the direction of the arrow 52, and twisted on the right again (double twist) by action of the fiyer 18 in the section 2d inside the hollow shaft 22. The left-hand twist in the section 2b and the right-hand twist in the section 2c cancel each other out so that the yarn receives two twists to the right between the drawing frame 1 and the outlet 19 from the hollow shaft, i.e. in the sections 2a, 2d. The yarn then runs through the thread guide 30 at the top of the can 29 and the movable thread guide 34, and is finally crosswound onto the package 26.

When the cross-wound package 26 is complete, the arm 4 can be swung upwards at the joint 6 with parts 3, 9, 11-13, separating the part 8 from the part 9 and stopping the drive to the false-twist tube 3. The shield 15', the cross-wound package 26 and the cone 25 can be pulled up off the carriers 24, and an empty cone 25 can be put on for the next winding cycle.

Wrapping the yarn round the tube 3 at 50 causes friction between the yarn and the tube. Consequently the tension in the sections 2b, 2c is absorbed, and the section 2a between the drawing frame 1 and saddle 14, where the roving has very low tensile strength, is protected from the tension of the yarn in the section of the balloon 2 below the tube 3.

Because the false-twist tube 3 and double-twist fiyer 18 have separate drives, they may rotate at different speeds. The speed of the fiyer 18 may be set at more than 8,000 r.p.m. when that of the tube 3 remains at 8,000 r.p.m., since the balloon 2f is controlled by the cylinder 16 and by a shield 15, if provided, and the centrifugal force of the yarn is absorbed and limited by these parts. For a speed of fiyer 18 higher than that of tube 3, the yarn 2 receives more than two twists in the frame. The roving speed, which is determined by the drawing frame 1, may also be increased. In other cases for example the speed of the tube 3 may be reduced from 8,000 to e.g. 6,000 r.p.m., that of the fiyer 18 remaining at 8,000 r.p.m. so that the yarn eventually receives more than two twists. Because of the difference in the speed of rotation and even in the directions of rotation of the false-twist tube and double-twist fiyer, the yarn may be overwound and then allowed to return part way, e.g. to make crimped or bulked yarn.

In an alternative embodiment, the yarn is given a false twist in the sections 20, 2b not by a false-twist tube but by, for example, a pin of similar size with saddles-e.g.

like the saddle I i-at top and bottom for entraining the thread.

The cross-wound package can 29 may be rotated and the package 26 prevented from rotating, in which case the carriage 32 and magnet 36 must rotate about the package axis while the magnet 36 simultaneously moves up and down.

Finally, the axis of the cross-wound package 26 may be horizontal and the package may be driven by a grooved drum pressing against the package and having slanting thread guide slots for Winding on the thread coming from the bore 17. In this case the thread passes directly from the top of the bore 22 in the spindle 22 (FIG. 1) to the grooved drum and then to the horizontally mounted crosswound package. There is no need for a hollow tube 27, and the bobbin on which the package is built up may have a solid shaft.

Instead of the drawing frame 1 which has three pairs of rollers and is intended more particularly for cotton, there may be a drawing frame with only twopairs of rollers, intended mainly for W001 and giving only one draft of the roving.

It will be seen that the invention provides a spinning frame comprising a rotatable means, such as the tube 3 with its saddle 14, to twist intermediate its ends a filament, such as the roving 2. It also comprises a separately driven double-twist mechanism which takes the form of the rotatable hollow shaft 22 with the yarn guide 18, 18 which is aflixed to that shaft and which extends radially therefrom. More specifically as shown in FIG. 1, the shaft 22 has an axial bore 22' at its upper end and this bore communicates with the radially extending bore 17 formed in the yarn guide made up of elements 18 which are affixed to the shaft 22. Upon rotation of the shaft 22, a filament extending from the tube 3 through the bores 17 and 22' will undergo twisting additional to the false twist imposed on it by the tube 3, and the filament will, moreover, be formed into a balloon as indicated at 2 and 2c in FIG. 1 between the tube 3 and the yarn guide which is formed by the elements 18 defining the radial bore 17. The spinning frame of the invention further includes means to wind the filament onto a spool within this balloon. In the embodiment shown in the drawings these winding means take the form of a hollow tube (generically comprising elements 24, 25 and 27) which are supported on the rotatable hollow shaft 22 coaxially therewith for rotation with respect thereto. The filament is wound into a package on this hollow tube as indicated at 26 in FIG. 1. These winding means also comprise in that embodiment the levelwind mechanism 32, 33, 34 supported from the shaft 22 via can 29 for rotation with respect to the shaft 22 and with respect to the tube 24, 25, 27, and they also comprise, in the form of the hub 45, plate 44, magnets 42, 43 and plate 39 fixed with respect to the elements 24, means to rotate the tube at a rate slow by comparison with the rotation of the hollow shaft 22. The shaft 22 is supported at bearings 22" in FIG. 1 fixed with respect to the base 5.

Whil the invention has been described herein in terms of a number of preferred embodiments, the invention itself is not limited thereto but rather comprehends variations on and departures therefrom falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A spinning frame comprising a rotatable shaft having an axial bore at one end thereof, false twist means disposed beyond said one end of the shaft to rotate a filament intermediate its ends, a flyer affixed to the shaft adjacent said one end and defining a filament conduit extending from a location radially exterior of the shaft into the bore of the shaft, whereby upon rotation of the shaft a filament extending from said false twist means through said conduit and into the bore will be formed into a balloon, a rotatable filament package carrier, a rotatable filament guide support, said carrier and support being supported from the shaft coaxially thereof inside the balloon for rotation with respect to the shaft and with respect to each other, and separate means to drive said false twist means, flyer, and carrier independently of each other.

2. A spinning frame comprising a rotatable shaft having an axial bore at one end thereof, a flyer afiixed to the shaft adjacent said one end thereof and defining a filament conduit extending from a location radially exterior of the shaft into the bore, whereby upon rotation of the shaft a filament extending from a location beyond said one end of the shaft through said conduit and into the bore will be formed into a balloon, a rotatable filament package carrier, a rotatable filament guide support, said carrier and su'pport being supported from the shaft coaxially thereof inside the balloon for rotation with respect to the shaft and with respect to each other, a member mounted coaxially of said shaft for rotation with respect thereto outside said balloon, and two-part magnetic means of which one part is mounted on said carrier and of which the other part is mounted on said member.

3. A spinning frame according to claim 2 wherein said filament package carrier is mounted on bearings from said shaft and wherein said filament guide support is mounted on bearings from said filament package carrier.

4. A spinning frame according to claim 2 wherein said filament guide support includes a can coaxial of the shaft.

5. A spinning frame according to claim 2 including means to twist a yarn intermediate its ends disposed beyond said one end of the shaft.

6. A spinning frame according to claim 2 including a filament guide mounted on said filament guide support for motion substantially parallel to said shaft, and twopart magnetic means of which one part is fixed with respect to said filament guide support and the other of which is mounted outside said balloon for motion substantially parallel to said shaft.

7. A spinning frame according to claim 6 including means to reciprocate the other part of said two-part magnetic means at unequal speeds in opposite directions axially of said shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,366,442 1/ 1921 Williams 74-567 2,143,203 1/1939 Maxham 57-5859 2,601,755 7/1952 Handschin 5758.65 2,838,903 6/1958 Sutter 57-51 OTHER REFERENCES Hagenuk: German DAS No. 1,098,861, published Feb. 2, 1961.

FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

W. H. SCI-IROEDER, Assistant Examiner. 

